Summary
• Slow processing and poor data visibility are drivers for software updates.
• All business functions should be considered during an upgrade.
• New providers should demonstrate the software in action.
• The system should be flexible enough for users to add new elements.
In the current climate, when timber companies choose a software system to run their business, they are making a long-term commitment. They are committing to taking a journey with their new provider and often to a whole new style of operation that will take their business forward into the future.
I’ve been on that journey myself – before recently joining software supplier Progressive Solutions I was corporate IT systems director at Arnold Laver Timberworld.
Seeing software from both sides of the fence I believe is an advantage as I engage with new customers and make sure they are getting the maximum benefits from the solutions offered.
So what can I advise companies currently asking themselves if they should upgrade their software or, as importantly, if they are getting the most out of their current system?
Listen to your customers
Probably the most important advice I can give is to listen carefully to your end users and understand what they need. If slow processing, poor visibility of data and the inability to perform required functions are identified as failures, then any of these should be seen as a driver for change.
Look first at your incumbent system. Some bespoke software writing may give you what you need. If you do need to look elsewhere, start by consulting your industry peers.
What solutions are the companies you respect using? Speak to operations of a similar size and type to your own so you can make meaningful comparisons.
Once the decision is made to change or upgrade, it’s important that all functions of the business are represented in the search. A salesman can’t be left to decide what purchasing will need and a manufacturing manager won’t be able to tell you what the accounts department want. Ideally the project team should be business led.
Software demonstration
Potential new providers should show you the software in action. Ask to see all processes – from enquiry through to payment, look at how specials are processed, look at picking, buying in, manufacturing, inter-branch transfers, dispatching, billing and, finally, collecting the money.
Sound day-to-day processing your business relies on is as important as the “sexy” stuff such as apps and sophisticated business intelligence suites. Be aware of the flexibility of a system too; if you want to add logos to documents or new user fields, will you be able to do this yourself?
Consider the provider’s commitment to future development of their software.
It should be continually evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of individual customers and the market in general.
Finally, the most important factor in the choice of provider should be the confidence you have in the people you are dealing with and a mutual ability to get along.
Your choice of software will impact on every single aspect of your business and the accepted life of a system is around nine years. That’s too long to be around a team you can’t work with!
